


Sparkling in the Twilight

by fayegonin



Category: Guild Hunter - Nalini Singh
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:06:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21775702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fayegonin/pseuds/fayegonin
Summary: Time: Archangel's War + 5 yearsA 450 year old angel decides she is bored, and wants to serve Raphael. She's smart, qualified, and negotiates the intense personalities as well as can be expected.
Relationships: Aodhan/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is partially written because one thing I dislike in these books is that none of the Seven are women. I love this series though. 
> 
> Doesn't belong to me, etc...

Chapter 1

I waited until everything had settled. The cascade was over. I smiled at Jessamy, and told her I was quitting. She wasn’t upset, knew I wasn’t an angel who would spend forever helping document the history. I had been helping her as an impartial observer (as impartial as one can be when one side is raising the dead). There was a great deal of history to document. The bulk of the writing was done, it was time to move on.

I waited until Raphael came to the refuge. Then, I waited until he was walking alone down a path and dropped silently from a cliff to land in front of him, bending a knee and bowing my head. A knife appeared in his hand, but I moved not a muscle. “Who are you?” he demands.

“My name is Lyrica. I would pledge my loyalty to you, Archangel Raphael.” I lift my head, my eyes not quite meeting his.

“There are easier, safer ways of pledging loyalty, Lyrica.”

His eyes are so cold, his power so overwhelming, but I think, perhaps there is a spark of amusement.

“But none are so effective.”

“Why would you say that?”

“This demonstrates my abilities, and you are known to prefer the strong-willed in your court.”

“It was a gamble on your part then. I could have killed you.”

“It was a calculated risk.” I am shuddering from holding the power of the gaze he has me trapped under. He is more powerful than I had imagined possible. I work to keep my tone level and even.

I see what I think might be a smile. “Walk with me, Lyrica.” I get up and take the offered arm, my body trembling with adrenaline and the power coming from the archangel.

“What is your experience?”

I reply “Almost 100 years ago, I served in Michaela’s court. I commanded 100, was a third rank courtier. I have grown in power since then.”

“Grown in power because of the Cascade?”

“I do not think so, cascade effects have mostly faded by now.” I steal a quick glance at the tattoo on his face. It was caused by the Cascade, yet remains.

“Why did you join Michaela’s court?”

“I’m a bit of a feminist. There is nowhere safer for women on the planet.”

“Then why leave?”

“Michaela’s territory is an excellent place for women, close to her, not so much. I was bored of the games played in her court.”

“What have you done since?”

I smile “I explored the world, learned the languages and rhythms of mortals, saw the great natural features. Then the cascade started. I returned to the refuge and helped Jessamy with documentation, as an impartial observer.”

The archangel comments “You could have simply asked Galen to recommend you. It would have brought you to my attention.” The power around Raphael has lessened, or perhaps I am adjusting to it.

“I could have, but like I said, I was sick of court games. I’d rather be judged on my own merits.” We reach the end of the path. Raphael glances up at the stars.

“Come to my weapons salle at 7:00 this morning.” It is almost 11:00 at night.

I bow deeply “Yes, Sire.”

The next morning dawns cold and bright. I arrive a few minutes early, my weapons strapped on. I did not get as much sleep as I should have. Galen arrives a moment later “Lyrica, what are you doing here?"

“Archangel Raphael told me to come here at this time.”

Galen shakes his head “You’re the one who surprised him last night?”

I smile sheepishly “Yeah, that was me.”

Galen frowns at me “I didn’t know you were a warrior?”

I shrug “I haven’t led anyone to battle for the last 100 years, but it’s not something you exactly forget.”

“Those weapons are yours?”

“Yes.”

He leads me to the practice ring out back. “May I inspect them?”

I draw the short swords from the sheath across my back and offer them to him hilt first. He nods and asks “Have you warmed up?”

I nod “Yes.” He returns my weapons.

“Let’s start with some hand-to-hand.” I take off the swords and the large knife at my side, leaving the smaller hidden blades in place. I take a defensive position. Contrary to what his bulk implies, Galen is fast. But I’ve had years to study his style. I lose the first match, catching him by surprise in the second. The third, he goes all out, and I lose after fighting the hardest I have in years. He looks pleasantly surprised “Good fight.” I shake his hand and smile. The hairs on the back of my neck prickle, and I drop to the ground. A throwing knife passes over my head and slams into Galen’s shoulder. He pulls it out and chucks it back, hard. Raphael catches it despite the speed at which it was thrown.

The archangel and his consort, the Angel-Made, land. I sweep into a bow. Elena laughs, calling “Sorry, Galen. I was aiming for the new girl.” I rise from the bow and raise an eyebrow at her. Galen’s wound is already closing, the blade did not do much damage. Elena addresses me “Dodging throwing knifes is an essential skill, if you’re going to live in archangel tower.”

I bow my head “Good to know, Consort.”

“Call me Elena.”

“As you wish, Elena.” I can’t help but flick a glance at Raphael, such familiarity not usually permissible in the world of older angels. His expression is carefully blank, but his grip around her waist is relaxed and warm.

“How did you know the knife was coming?”

“My instincts shrieked.”

Raphael addresses Galen. “Evaluation?”

“We didn’t get to blades, hand-to-hand, she’s a little rusty, but good training. A very smart fighter.”

Elena smiles again “High compliment, that is.” Addressing Galen, she continues “I can take the next bout, if you like, since I just put a knife in your shoulder.”

At Raphael’s subtle nod, Galen bows his head “That would be great, Elena.”

I ask “Any strikes to avoid?” as I pick up my weapons.

Raphael responds “Elena has the regenerative abilities of a 200 year-old angel at present.”

I keep my face from showing surprise. As long as I avoid major injuries, she’ll recover from any minor blows within a few hours. I can’t help but consider the political ramifications of beating the archangel’s consort. I deliberately push that out of my head and focus on just fighting. I don’t think losing to the Consort for politics would help my cause. I take a deep breath and focus. Galen looks us both over “To first blood. Ready and go.” Before I can even draw a sword, a knife comes flying in my direction. I jump up, doing a sudden vertical takeoff and a spin before drawing my sword, deflecting the next three knives thrown at me while running at Elena. She draws a larger knife and fends off my attacks while sending even more knives in my direction. I slip over her guard and manage to cut her above the collarbone. Galen calls “Over.” I step back immediately.

Elena asks “Do you have eyes in the back of your head or something?”

I laugh before I can help myself “No, no eyes.” Her injury has already sealed itself up.

Galen asks her “Again?”

She nods “Sure.” There is a glint in her eye that tells me to be careful, that she has a few tricks up her sleeve.

This time, the knives fly much faster. I have trouble dodging them, so I toss a knife of my own, disusing the motion as I roll. The barrage of knives stop for a second, but that’s all I need to get close. Elena draws another knife, and fights me with dual wielded blades. Her knifes are shorter than my sword, but I get pushed back because she has two blades to my one. I consider drawing my other sword. I go for the larger knife on my belt instead, so she can’t get inside the range of my weapons. Then she starts unleashing some street style fighting. I adjust, not expecting those types of moves from an angel. After she nearly trips me the third time, I manage to get in a few dirty ticks of my own. Elena moves much faster than she did during the last fight. Finally, I disarm her of one knife, deflect the throwing blade she draws and throws almost immediately, slam away the other knife and scratch the tip of her nose with my sword.

Galen calls “Over.” I sheath my blades, and offer her a handshake.

“Good fight, you’re very fast.”

She smiles “Thanks.” and shakes my hand. She goes over to stand next to Raphael, who immediately puts an arm around her waist. She snuggles into him.

Galen asks “Ready to go another round?”

I nod, “Sure.”

Galen picks up a large great-sword from the side of the practice field. I draw one of my swords. Raphael calls “Ready, and go.” Galen swings, and I dodge back, using every bit of my reflexes just to keep out of the reach of that sword. I toss a matte black throwing knife while ducking to the ground and come up inside his guard with another small knife pressed against his belly. Raphael calls “Over.”

Galen steps back, carefully. “Where did you train?”

I shrug “Here and there.”

We fight again, and he isn’t holding back this time. He cuts a gash on my upper arm, and Raphael calls the match. The last fight, I can feel myself starting to tire, but I put up a pretty good showing as it drags out. Galen wins again, shaking my hand. Raphael calls me over.

“Lyrica, you studied to be a spy in Michaela’s court.”

I blink, surprised. “Jason is good, but that’s really fast.” Raphael waits. I take a breath “Yes, that is true. I studied for a while, but eventually decided it wasn’t for me.”

Raphael looks at me. Elena chimes in “You know that looks bad.”

I shrug and regain my equilibrium “It is what it is. After that, I worked as a counter-spy.”

Raphael raised an eyebrow “You said you were tired of court intrigue.”

“And so I am. I didn’t say I wasn’t good at it.”

Raphael asks “So what do you want to do?”

I reply “I like tactics, commanding forces, spy games, but not political intrigue. I don’t really know how your people are broken up.”

Elena interrupts “How comfortable are you around mortals?”

I reply “Pretty comfortable. I spent a few years learning their ways.”

Raphael asks “When exactly did you leave Michaela’s court?”

“97 years ago.”

A fraction of surprise filters through Raphael's emotionless facade. “Jason says we should recruit you.”

“I’m flattered.”

Raphael’s eyes drill into me “So why the warrior facade?”

I shrug, slightly annoyed “I am a warrior.”

“And a spy.”

I respond with a little heat “I’m not spying for anyone, and I would prefer not to do so in the future.”

“So you could be a spy, but don’t want to be, so you presented yourself as a warrior?”

I take a breath “Sure.”

Raphael looks at me “Do you have access to plans of my defense systems?”

I reply “Not currently.”

Elena hesitantly interrupts “Raphael,”

They have a quick mental conversation, and her eyes sparkle with amusement.

Raphael addresses me “Come inside.” Galen leaves, and I follow them inside the building, where it is marginally warmer. We take a seat. “First, I accept your pledge of loyalty, and know you have made it in good faith.”

“Thank you, Sire.”

“Second, I am going to take advantage of your skill set to plan a test of my defenses.” His expression is completely bland, but Elena’s eyes are laughing.

I nod, not sure I like where this is going.

“Your goal is to tag as many of my people as possible and see how much information you can get before being taken down.”

I ask “Tag how?”

Elena suggests “Red spray paint?”

I nod “That’d work.”

Raphael replies “I want to see how many of my people you can turn.”

I shrug “Your Seven are legendary for their loyalty to you.”

“Not them, I know they won’t betray me. The rest of the tower staff is fair game.”

I ask “Will your Seven be informed of this plan?”

Raphael shakes his head “No.”

I reply dryly “I will try not to get myself killed then.”

Elena laughs “This should distract Dimitri for a while.”

I ask “How long do I have?”

Raphael shrugs “8 months enough?”

I nod “I think so. Do you want me to give myself away by the end or attempt to stay secret?”

Raphael thinks for a minute “Attempt to stay hidden.”

I smile “I’ll see what I can do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually ship Aodhan and Illium, but this story occurred to me. It's coming along very well, I'm having fun writing it, so that usually means it is fun to read.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Break-in at Archangel Tower.

Chapter 2

~~ 7 months, 29 days later ~~

Infiltrating Raphael’s tower is really hard. I started on one of the smaller territories, found a disgruntled vampire, and tapped them for information. Then I moved in, finding tiny cracks and pushing in. I turned a lower level person with access first, then another, then a higher level sentry with some careful blackmail. No one wanted to betray Raphael. Dimitri caught a scent almost a month ago, and Venom has been on the lookout for me. It is time for my endgame. I arranged for several (non-fatal) incidents to happen all over the city. Then I tagged a pair of sentries, then another that got sent to investigate. I carefully avoided the wire traps still strung between buildings as I flew in the early dawn to the archangel’s tower. A carefully hidden diamond saw gets me in through a window. I tap a few people unconscious and spray-paint their foreheads in red. 

See, I arranged for the surveillance system to be hacked. And the official backup system. And Vivek’s secret backup system. However, I expect Vivek will get his system back up within a minute or two. I take to the crawl ways hidden in the ceiling. With Naasir gone, they should be mostly undefended. I drop a paint grenade which explodes when Ilium rounds the corner. He looks very pissed off, covered in red paint. I toss another paint grenade in Venom’s room for good measure. I hear an outraged hiss and flee as quickly as possible, cutting another window. The reflection off the glass of the building is blinding, but no one can see me. I climb to Dimitri’s balcony and tag Honor through a window. Then I go fly up to Raphael’s balcony, knocking on the window. Elena lets me in sleepily. “Hi Lyrica. Is the current attack your doing?”

I nod “Yeah, it’s me. Now can you keep Dimitri from killing me?” 

Elena asks “What did you do?” 

I reply “I might have just spray-painted Honor in the face.”

Elena laughs “Oh dear.” 

Raphael looks over “Lyrica. You’re a day early.” 

I shrug, struck again by his immense power. “I know, but it’s a better surprise that way.” 

There is a knock on the door. “Sire, I have reason to believe you are in danger.” It’s Dimitri, and he is furious. Raphael opens the door and sees me hiding behind Elena. 

He looks at Raphael questioningly. Raphael asks “Is everyone okay?”

Dimitri responds “A few people are unconscious, no serious injuries. All of our surveillance is down. Multiple people have been spray-painted red, including Ilium.” 

Elena laughs. Dimitri inquires “Sire, did you know of this?”

Raphael looks a little guilty “About 8 months ago, I asked Lyrica to find a weakness in our defenses.” 

Dimitri glares at me “What was your escape plan?” 

I reply “Boat 20 miles offshore would take me to a human ship, where I would hide. Or suicide by archangel.” 

Dimitri asks “How did you get in?”

“Diamond cutter, had the surveillance hacked.” 

Raphael cuts in “We’ll do a full debrief in two hours. For now, get the spray-paint out of my tower.” 

Dimitri bows and leaves. Raphael turns to me. “Lyrica, I’m sure you can find your way to an empty guest suite. Get some rest.”

I bow “Yes, Sire.” I give my spray-paint to Elena. “I’m not sure I want to be seen with these right now.” 

Her eyes laugh, but she takes the cans solemnly. I head down to an empty room, shower, and crash for an hour of sleep. I am woken by a knock on the door. I open it cautiously. Elena smiles and hands me a cardboard box. “This arrived for you.” 

I pause then smile “Right, I almost forgot I had that sent to myself.”

Elena asks “What is it?”

I open it in front of her “A change of clothes and some props for the debrief.” Elena laughs and follows me into the room. 

She comments “Dimitri is very upset, and Ilium is furious. You’re lucky Naasir is out of the country.” 

I shrug “If Naasir was here, I would have needed a different plan entirely.” 

“Why?”

“I used the tower ventilation system.” 

“How did you fit with wings?”

In a dry tone, I reply “Very carefully.” I am also short and skinny for an angel. 

Elena tips back her head and laughs. I watch her in amazement. She looks at me “What?”

I shake my head “You act very mortal. It’s hard to keep appropriate angelic cool when you do that.”

“Okay, was that an insult?”

“No, just a general complaint.” 

Elena smiles “I think you’ll get on well here. Remember not to back down in this meeting.” 

I shrug “As long as Dimitri doesn’t try to kill me, I will be fine.” 

Elena laughs “No promises on that front.” 

I walk down to the conference room with Elena. Venom hisses at me as I walk in the door “What was the paint in my room for?” His eyes are freakier in person. 

“The trap on 22nd street last week. It looked very painful.” I take a seat near the end of the table, keeping Elena between me and Venom. Jason is already sitting at the other end of the table. 

Venom looks amused “Scared of me?”

I meet his slitted eyes “Maintaining a healthy distance for the moment.” His partner, Holly, chuckles at that. 

I exchange banter with Venom as Ilium, Honor, Dimitri and Raphael come into the room. Dimitri takes the seat across from me, pinning me with his glare, which I studiously ignore. Raphael speaks “As you have probably heard, Lyrica ran a fake attack on archangel tower today.” He sits and gestures to me, and I realize that is my introduction.

I stand and address them. “Right, hello, my name is Lyrica. I’ll tell the story from the beginning. 8 months ago, I approached Raphael in the refuge and offered my allegiance. After learning that I had a background in spying, he suggested that I undertake this challenge. My goal was to collect information and tag as many people as possible loyal to Raphael. I did not tell him any of my plans. Over the past few months, I have turned 3 people in archangel tower, and gotten information out of a few more. This folder contains the highlights of what I manged to learn.” I slide the folder to Dimitri. 

He stops glaring at me to look through the material. I continue “I gained access to the tower by cutting through a window, as you have probably already found. I hired a few free-lancers to take down the security system. I moved through the building mostly in the ventilation shafts. I also traveled up the side of the building with sticky gloves developed by humans recently. The sun reflects off the building, making it very hard to see. Any questions?” 

I sit back down. Ilium demands “Why did you feel the need to spray-paint me?” 

“I heard someone coming around the corner, so I dropped a paint grenade. I didn’t know it was you specifically until you turned the corner. It could have been anyone wandering around the upper floor.” 

Venom asks “How did you get through the windows?” 

“Diamond cutter, with a battery. Only good for a few uses.” 

Venom looks at me suspiciously. “Which incidents over the last few days were your doing?”

I smile and list them. All non-fatal, but serious enough to require tower attention. 

Dimitri asks “Who in the upper level did you turn?” He passes the folder to Ilium. 

I reply “Kashin developed a drug problem almost a year ago. I made sure he owed me. Even still, it was very hard to get him to turn over important documents. I had to use pretty substantial blackmail. I also hired a hacker.”

Dimitri asks “How did you get the complete building plans for the tower? All copies were destroyed.” 

“I had an acquaintance retrieve them from Neha.” 

Jason asks “How did she get them?”

“She’s had them for a while.” And so the meeting goes on. I answer their questions in as much depth as possible. Slowly, the antagonism fades to respect. 

Three hours later, Raphael ends the meeting. “Alright, I think that’s enough for today.” As people are leaving, he addresses me. “Lyrica, I’m going to station you in the tower for now, as we work off the information you have given us.” I nod and leave. As I round the corner, I hear the sound of a knife flying through the air. I duck. 

Ilium glares at me. “If you paint me again, I’ll hit you next time.”

I raise an eyebrow “Vain much, Bluebell?”

He looks furious, but it quickly turns into a smile when he realizes I’m joking. I look back at Elena “You weren’t joking about dodging throwing knives being an essential skill around here.” 

She smiles “I really wasn’t. They were impressed in there, you know.” 

I smile back “Thanks, I needed to hear that.” 

Elena hesitates than asks “I’m heading out drinking tonight with some of my friends, including Honor and Holly. Would you like to come with us?” 

“I would love to. What time?”

“Around 7.” 

I nod. “I’ll be in my room. I think I’m going to retrieve some more of my stuff from my hideout while I have some down time.” 

Elena nods. I head down the elevator and walk out the front door of archangel tower, waving to the surprised vampire at the reception desk. I walk down the streets for a while, letting myself be seen and enjoying the city. It is nice to not have to hide. It also gives plenty of time for the tail Dimitri has put on me to be lulled into a false complacency. I step behind a building and do a sudden vertical takeoff. Then I run across rooftops, taking an eccentric path. I blend in the with the buildings well enough that an angel can’t spot me unless I am right underneath. I get to my apartment, pack my bag and wait on the roof, nicely silhouetted.

A mere 30 minutes later, Ilium swoops down and hover in front of me. 

He comments “You lost your tail.” 

I nod “I know.” 

Ilium settles onto the rooftop beside me. “Why?”

I shrug “I dislike being tailed, I pledged my loyalty. But I figured I shouldn’t worry Dimitri too much, so I let you find me.” 

Ilium laughs brightly “You know, Vivek managed to catch me being covered in paint on camera.” 

I laugh in return “I’m so sorry.”

Ilium shakes his head “Let’s head back to the tower.” We take flight, and he comments “I imagine you have complete profiles done on each of us?”

I shrug “I wouldn’t call them complete for the purposes of spy-work. There’s a lot of gaps, but it’s not too hard to get a sense of people’s characters.” 

Ilium asks “Anything special about me?”

“You’re known to be powerful, and completely loyal to Raphael. I was concentrating on slightly lower level tower personnel, so I didn’t gather much on the Seven.” 

“So where did you get spy experience?”

“I ran Michaela’s counter-spy operation for a few years. Jason’s really good, he kept getting spies in, and I had to keep taking them out or turning them back without causing a fuss.” 

Ilium shakes his head “That’s fairly impressive.” 

I smile at him “Thanks, see you later.” Once I get to my new room, I take out my cell phone and text Elena about the dress code for tonight. 

Her response is to burst in through my balcony door “How did you get my number?” 

I reply “I’ve literally been spying on all of you for the last 4 months. The tower contact list wasn’t that hard to get.” 

“Okay. I guess that makes sense. Dress code is kinda nice. Like a dress maybe, but nothing formal.” 

“Thanks.” She flips backwards off the balcony, joining Raphael in the sky. 

And so I begin my integration into life in New York.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is ending up being a bit more of a slow build, all the canon characters are so strong. I took a little more space to really establish Lyrica. It will get to the romance eventually.

Chapter 3

Time passes, and I find my wings in this new life. I find a nice apartment in the city, and decorate it to be like a second home. I am put in charge of a squad of 30 fighters, and I enjoy the command. Patrols and training are a good way to pass the time. I interact with the city and figure out how to deal with the rather abrasive mortals that live there. I start to make friends. I interact with the Guild, teaching a few classes on Elena’s request. I am promoted after another angel is transferred. I build my reputation and trust between the other leaders in Raphael’s squadrons. Ilium and I get along pretty well, and I get the sense he is lonely. It might be because Aodhan is still helping in China. 

No one tries to back-stab me and take my position. No one tries to poison my reputation. I earn respect and trust. It feels so much better than the poison that spread throughout Michaela’s court. 

Elena asks one day “How do you like it here?”

I can answer with a smile and sincerity “I love it here.” 

But I feel the tremors of something going on. I try very hard to ignore it, reminding myself I wanted to just be a warrior, leading a squadron of angels. Alas, curiosity gets the better of me. I nonchalantly stop by the command center. Ilium sees me and waves, so I walk over. “Hey, what’s up?” such a informal greeting would be frowned upon anywhere else, but Raphael’s people thrive on informality. 

Ilium shrugs “Frustration.” 

“How so?” I make sure I seem interested, but not too curious.

Ilium replies “Oh, the vampires are acting weird, even some of the low level angels.”

I ask “Hiding away, or skipping town?” I’m really just fishing at this point. 

“Both. But we haven’t been able to figure out why or where they are going.” 

“Are they allianced with anyone in particular?”

“Not that we’ve been able to determine.” 

“That’s odd. Any common traits?” 

Ilium sighs “Venom is going to look through the profiles later, see what he can find. We’re a bit over-taxed right now.” 

I frown “Why, what else is going on?”

“New York is a big city. The mortals and vampires have finally decided they are safe from the cascade, so are causing real trouble for the first time in years.”

I laugh at his dry tone “I guess that’s what happens when you rebuild so quickly and with such spirit.”

Ilium scowls “Only if you count a vampire bank robber as a sign of spirit.”  
“That sounds like an excellent story.” 

Ilium shares the tale, and I laugh with him. Vivek notices and scowls at me demanding “Why did you let her in here?”

Ilium frowns “Why not?”

Vivek responds “She’s looked at all of the secret information on these monitors.” 

Ilium raises an eyebrow at me. I mutter “Well, I might have scanned the room.” 

Vivek adds “And, you’re telling her about all of our active investigations and concerns.” 

Ilium looks at me. I shrug cheekily. “I was curious why people seemed strained around here. No one tells us warriors anything.” I add a sheepish smile “Any maybe I was a tad bored.” 

Dimitri enters the room on that statement. “You’re complaining of boredom? Raphael said you wanted to just play warrior in peace.” 

I blink “Well, I did say that, but just drilling every day does get a tad boring.” 

Dimitri snorts, darkly amused. “Any experience with law enforcement? Or do you only know spy tricks?” He’s still a tad salty about the whole infiltrate the tower thing. 

I reply “I have hunted a few vampires and the rare angel in my time, but have no great familiarity with mortal law enforcement in this territory.” 

“You are familiar with modern investigative practices?”

“More or less.”

Dimitri smiles, and the sight is not reassuring. “Oh, good. Well, since you’re bored, I think I’ll assign you to assist the police with a serial rape-murder case.”

Illium asks “Why were we asked to assist?”

Dimitri responds “The working theory is that it is a vampire responsible.” 

I add “That would put it under tower jurisdiction?”

“Right, but they aren’t sure. And it does no harm to assist when asked.” 

I ask “Who would you normally send?”

Dimitri shrugs “Janvier or Trace. A few others would also be suitable, but most of them are busy.” 

I fill in the gap “Investigating the outflow of immortals?”

Dimitri frowns at me, and Ilium winces slightly. “Yes, although you shouldn’t know that.” 

I laugh it off, asking “So what does this assistance to law enforcement entail?”

Dimitri gestures for me to follow him. I walk beside him down a hallway as he explains “Go to the police station, introduce yourself. Offer any insights, offer assistance with the investigation. Try not to step on any toes. If the murderer ends up being a vampire, detain him and call the tower. If he’s human, let the police get on with their job.” 

I nod “Sounds simple enough. When do I start?”

“Right away.” We enter Dimitri’s office. “Here’s the case file. Look it over, and see if you have any questions.” 

I have Dimitri clarify a few things, my mind already on the hunt. On my way out the door, Dimitri asks “Lyrica, why were you only a 3rd rank courtier in Michaela’s court?” Because he is Raphael’s second, I should answer the question.

I turn and answer “I quit Michaela’s court 100 years ago. I’ve grown quite a bit in power since then.” 

Dimitri raises an eyebrow “If you’re as good as Jason says, that wouldn’t have stopped you.” 

I hesitate then explain more “Twice, my lovers denied Michaela. The first time, we were young angels, and she brushed it off, but I remembered the look in her eye. The second time, the vampire was punished for an outwardly unrelated offense. It made me uneasy, so I stopped moving up in the ranks and left a few years later. I have no desire for an archangel to view me as a rival or a threat. It’s possible I was overreacting, but I’d rather be safe.”

“Why come serve Raphael now?” 

I shrug “I was helping Jessamy document the Cascade. I have a bit of a scholarly bent. I was impressed with Galen. I was impressed with the way Raphael handled the Cascade. I was curious about New York.” I stop and try to distill it. “It felt right. I trust my instincts. Raphael seemed like an angel I would be proud to pledge loyalty too.”

Dimitri frowns “Why did your priorities change from when you pledged to Michaela?”

I consider the question “They didn’t really. Michaela’s territory was the safest for women and children anywhere in the world. I believed in that. I was a young angel, I didn’t really think about Michaela outside her position as an archangel.” 

“Thank you for answering honestly.” 

I snort “I could hardly answer any other way.” Dimitri’s face remains cold, but I think his lips quirk in a slight smile. 

“Better get down to the police station.” 

“Yes sir.” I stroll out the door and take off from the nearest balcony.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to imagine how an actual police department would deal with vampires and angels. Doesn't conflict with canon, I think.

I land on the sidewalk in front of the police station with a quick rustle of feathers. I walk through the door and over to the receptionist. He stares at me in awe, angel-struck. I try very hard not to roll my eyes. I snap my fingers in front of his face “Hello, looking for directions here.” He blinks and slowly recovers. 

“Um, ah...” 

I order “Point me in the direction of whoever is in charge of the serial murder case.” 

The man finally forms a coherent thought “You’re so pretty.” Or maybe not a coherent thought. Another few blinks “Third floor conference room.” 

“Thank you.” 

Although the building is spacious, the elevator was not constructed for beings with wings, so I take the stairs. Three floors is nothing to a 450 year-old angel, although hitting my wings on the hand rails is rather annoying. I slip through the door to the third floor and walk until I find a conference room. Conversation stops when I walk in. The mortals stare at me for a minute, then the fat one asks “What are you doing here?”

I raise an eyebrow “Unless the angel-struck receptionist directed me wrongly, you requested a tower consult on a serial case.”

The man clears his throat. “Um, I was expecting Janvier or someone like him.” 

I raise an eyebrow “A male vampire, perhaps?” One of the female detectives chokes down a laugh. I decide to let the poor guy off the hook. “My name is Lyrica.”

The fat one introduces himself as Josh, the skinny one as Darrell. The female detective’s name is Marlise. Darrell asks “Have you worked a serial killer case before?”

I shrug “I have hunted murderers and rapists. I am here in case the killer ends up being a vampire.

“Why don’t you tell me what your current theories are? I am familiar with the details of this case, but I would like to know what you are thinking.” I walk around the table and sit on the edge, joining the group looking at a board covered in pictures and documents. Sensible, they have put all the facts of the case in one spot. 

Marlise takes over “We have 6 confirmed victims, and a potential 7th and 8th from last year. They fit the victimology, but the mode of death was slightly different. They were asphyxiated instead of being strangled. They were working girls in the Vampire Quarter. When the killing started this year, the victims were middle class girls, but the killer has started taking prostitutes again, so we’ve added them back to the board.” 

I ask “What are your plans?” 

The skinny man, Darrell, responds “We have warned women who match his type, blond hair, light skin, brown eyes, to be wary of suspicious men. We have undercover cops at all the bars, and are maintaining electronic surveillance of dating sites. So far, the killer has not left any leads we can trace back to him. All of the bodies have been dumped in different locations where the security cameras are down or nonexistent. Many businesses are still rebuilding from the war.” 

I nod “Where were the women taken from?”

“The last four were last seen walking out of clubs alone in the Vampire Quarter.” 

I sigh “No suspects, not even a vague description. Usually by now, a killer would start to devolve.” I pause then ask “So why do you think it might be a vampire?”

The fat one replies “The last three vics had marks of recent feeding.” 

I counter “Doesn’t mean it was the killer.” 

“But it makes it a possibility. Strangulation requires physical strength as well.”

I nod. “But not vampiric strength.” Josh looks like he want to argue. I hold up a hand “I accept that it is a possibility. Do you have the bodies?” 

They nod. Marlise volunteers “I’ll take you to the morgue.” She stops in front of the elevator. 

I murmur “Stairs please. Wings do not fit in this elevator.” 

She nods “Right, sorry.” 

As we walk down the stairs, she comments “You seem very normal for an angel.” 

I raise an eyebrow at her “Met many angels, have you?”

She blushes “Well, no, but they always seem so distant.” 

I shake my head “Angelic protocol is a nightmare.” I shrug “Also, when I was about oh, 25 in human terms, I decided I was done with politics and niceties and protocol. I quit my job and spent 80 years wandering among mortals. I learned to mesh with the culture. And New York has a very interesting culture and style. Y’all are so rude.” I startle a laugh out of her. 

“Have you been in New York long?” 

“Nearly a year.” 

She glances over “Wow, you’re new to the city then.” 

“I’ve visited before, but yes. I just started working for Raphael. Well, not him directly, but you know what I mean.” 

“How did you get assigned to this job?”

“I have applicable experience, and Dimitri decided I looked bored.” 

“Is he scary?” 

I answer honestly “Dimitri is bone-chilling terrifying.” 

Marlise looks confused “I thought angels were stronger than vampires.” 

I think about how to explain and fix that impression. “Well, it’s sort of a scale. The most powerful vampires are sometimes stronger than weaker angels. And there’s always personality to consider. Generally, angels are more powerful than vampires though, and archangels are always the most powerful.” We exit the stairs into the basement level. My skin crawls at the thought of being underground, but I ignore it. Angels don’t like being underground. 

The coroner freezes as she sees me, then blinks and asks “Tower consult?”

Detective Marlise nods “Yeah, this is Lyrica.” 

The coroner nods “I’ll get the bodies.” She pulls out drawers in what I realize to be a giant refrigerator. I start at the last victim and look over all of them. 

I ask “The two bodies from last year are gone?”

The coroner nods “Yeah, released to family.” 

I question “Did they have marks of feeding?”

The coroner nods “They were old. Unconnected to the cause of death.” 

The two earlier victims from this year make me think. They were a little older, but looked the same age as the women from the Vampire Quarter. Living a high-risk lifestyle like that causes people to age prematurely. I nod “Unconnected to the cause of death, but it could be part of the signature. How long did you estimate these women were held?” 

“About a week.” 

I nod and look closer at the rope burn on the wrists and ankles. “If they were only bound part of the time, or were bound in different ways, it could have been longer. What condition were their muscles in?” 

“Hard to tell, but it is possible.” 

I nod and walk over to the earliest two victims. “Some vampires have the ability to heal their bites within a day or so. However, the skin can appear overly smooth in the surrounding area.” I carefully inspect the neck and wrist. Right above the marks from the rope burn, the skin is very smooth. I look at the detective “It isn’t conclusive, but I think it is highly probable there is a vampire in the mix somewhere. It would be extremely unusual for a vampire to kidnap, rape, and kill without draining all the blood he can from the victims.” 

Marlise nods “That’s what we thought.” As we walk out of the basement, her phone rings. “Detective Richins.” a pause “That’s good news.” “Yeah, we’ll meet you in the parking lot.” We take a back door out of the stairwell on the ground floor. I stretch my wings out with a snap and settle them back into place, releasing the tension of being underground. 

The other two detectives are lounging on a police car. I ask “What have you learned?”

“We got a tip, a woman says a man approached her last night and offered her a ton of money to meet him at his car. Said he wanted someone to pretend to be his girlfriend for the weekend. It seemed weird to her, so she called it in earlier today when she heard about the warning. The guy was offering cash on the spot.” 

Marlise whistles “That would explain why the victims disappear without a trace. They’re going willingly. That’s a dream gig for a working girl.” They are more energetic now, there is a lead on the case. Working a serial murder case is frustrating and painful. Each new body is an agonizing failure.

They are eager to get going so I ask “Where is it? I’ll meet you there.” 

Detective Josh suggests “If you’re going to tag along, we can split up. You two can go interview the girl. Lyrica, do you mind coming to the club with me? We’ll try to get security footage and speak to anyone working there.” 

“No problem, which club?” 

“Leopard dance, just inside the vampire quarter.” 

I nod “I’ll meet you there.” I circle above the street until I see a cop car pull up in front of the club. I land silently beside Josh. He turns and startles at seeing me suddenly appear.

He recovers quickly and asks “How involved do you want to be?”

“It’s your investigation, I’ll leave it to you unless people are being difficult.” The detective nods, and I follow him inside the club. The club has opened less than an hour ago, and it is sparsely populated. People stare at my wings, but not too long. My impression is that this club caters to people looking for a drink after work earlier in the evening, and darker pleasures later at night. 

Josh grabs a seat at the bar, and I slide into a seat next to him. The bartender strolls over “What can I get for the lovely angel?” 

I smile “I’d usually love a drink, but unfortunately, I am here for business today.” 

Josh shows his badge “NYPD. We have a few questions about a man who came into this bar last night around 11:00.”

The bartender nods “I was working then.” 

Josh nods “We need a description of the man who was talking to Lacy. This is a picture of her.” 

The bartender nods “Yeah, I remember the guy. Was kinda handsome, flirting with Lacy a little. I think I saw him give her cash. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. She took cash from him?”

“Yeah, I know she makes a little extra money hooking up with guys on the side.” 

“Can you describe the man?”

The bartender nods “Sure, he was fairly tall, about 6’. Lighter skin, but black hair. Hazel or light brown eyes. Strong cheekbones, but in a sexy way.” His description is helpful, but not enough. 

Josh asks “Did he seem like a vampire?”

“Not obviously, but I think he could have been.” 

“Do you have security footage?”

The bartender frowns “I’m not supposed to show it to anyone.” 

I smile at him “The tower has taken an interest in this case. I’m sure your boss will understand.” When he hesitates, I start cleaning under my fingernails with a sharp knife that seemed to appear from nowhere. 

He gulps “Right this way.” We follow him to a back room where he pulls up the security feed from the front door. “We just got the cameras reinstalled three days ago.” 

I comment to Josh “That’s probably why he chose this bar. Thought there would be no cameras.” 

Josh nods “The level of organization is scary.” I nod in agreement. Most murderers are not this organized, this cold-blooded. Humans usually murder in rage, vampires in blood-lust. When it is clinical execution like this, there is usually vengeance or ambition involved, but these victims do not fit into that category. The killer is probably using them as surrogates for the real target of his rage. 

The bartender stops the footage. “There, that guy.” 

Josh replies “We’ll need a copy of that footage.” 

The bartender sighs “I’ll burn two discs.” 

I ask “Do you also have footage of the parking lot?” 

He shows us footage that includes the suspect leaning up against a car for 15 minutes, then walking away down the street. The car he described to the woman is obviously not his car. Josh whistles “Clever bastard. If we hadn’t caught him on camera, there’d be nothing to trace back to him.” I notice something else in the way the man walks. He has the smooth, rolling gait of a vampire. Could just be a very well trained human, but my instincts say vampire. 

Josh and I walk out of the bar. Josh says “I’m going to head back to the station, run this through facial recognition, see if we get any hits.”

I nod “I’ll take it back to the techs at the tower. My gut says he’s a vampire, but I have no proof.” 

Josh nods in acknowledgement, so I do a vertical takeoff and fly quickly back to the tower. I stroll into the control room and walk over to Vivek. He scowls at me “What do you want?”

I hand him the disk “Computer geek, can you run facial recognition on a low-res video?”

“Is it important?”

“Serial killer that might be a vampire, but isn’t killing like a vampire.” 

“That’s important.” I roll my eyes at the grudging acknowledgement in his tone. Vivek doesn’t like me because I hired someone to hack his system during my attack. 

He loads up the disk. I say “First video, time stamp 10:36.” 

“That’s good enough for facial id.” He taps away at the keyboard. “It’ll take a few minutes.” I wait. “Two matches. That’s odd.” He pulls them up on the screen. “So, it seems like this killer has a false identity in the system. The original id is for a vampire named Alster Silver, but it seems as if he has a fake id under the name Henry Smith. He’s been passing for a human.” 

I ask “How old?”

“Ten years post-contract. He has a good amount of cash.” 

“Did you just hack his bank records?”

“Maybe.” 

“Any addresses?”

“These two.” I copy them into my phone.

“Anything else of importance, like a current location?”

Vivek checks, but shakes his head “Most of the city’s cameras are still down.” 

I nod “Thanks.” I walk over to Venom, who is lounging across a chair. 

I ask “What’s the procedure if we have a probable vampire serial killer who isn’t in blood-lust? I’m liaising with the police.” Venom opens his freaky eyes and I see them flicker. 

“Interesting.” He pauses “Hunt the bastard down. Why probable?”

“The evidence we have right now could be coincidental.” 

Venom remains liquid in his chair. “Tell the police that you’ll take care of questioning the vampire, but they should continue investigating. Then go question him forcibly.”

I smile “That I can do.” I call Josh and update him. Then I check the two addresses, but no one is home. Neither looks like it has been lived in for a while. I write down the plate numbers of the cars at each house. The neighbors don’t know anything, other than he only shows up occasionally. 

I scowl and return to Vivek. “Can you put alerts on these plate numbers and that guys face?” 

Vivek glares at me, but has it accomplished extremely quickly. There’s nothing I can do now but wait. I run some drills with my squadron and try to get some sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of violence, within canon.

The next morning, I get a call from Marlise. “Another woman is missing, Julia Stevens, matches his type.” I curse. We go to the bar where she was hanging out, and the waiter recognizes the photo. She walked out of the bar with him. I think that’s solid confirmation. However, he stayed off camera. 

My room feels too small, so I pace up and down the corridor. Ilium notices me. “Lyrica, everything alright?”

I try to smile at him “Waiting for a lead to catch the killer. Bastard’s an expert at avoiding cameras.” 

Ilium replies “At least you know who it is.” 

I shake my head “He took another mortal woman last night, has gone to ground.” 

He suggests “You could get one of the hunter-born to help.” 

“Witness saw them getting in a car. No trail to track.” 

Ilium asks “Want to spar, take the edge off?” 

I smile at him for trying to help despite the crazy workload he has. “Sure, if you have time.” Ilium is a good friend. I turn the volume up all the way on my phone so I won’t miss the alert if it comes. 

We fight hand-to-hand. It is more brutal, but we’re less likely to take an injury that won’t heal quickly. Neither of us is in the mood to go easy. Ilium beats me more often than not, but I hold my own enough times. We are in the middle of a fight when Venom strolls in. I slam Ilium to the ground, but he recovers and sends me flying into the air. I halt a mere inch from the wall and dive in a twist to slam into him again, catching his arm in a lock. He taps out. Venom walks up “Care to go a round or two?” I’ve seen Venom fight, he is faster than he should be and moves strangely. 

“Sure.” I shake hands with Ilium, who walks to the side of the room and starts chatting with Holly. 

Venom and I start circling each other. Those eyes are …. Fuck. I’m frozen in place for a split second, almost enough to take a hit to the face. I complain “You can mesmerize angels with those damn things?” His only response is a fanged grin. Although he is the youngest of the Seven, he is terrifying as the rest of them. 

I attack quickly, but his bones seem liquid and slides out of the way of my attacks, never where I think he is. I lose the first few fights, then start using my brain to predict his moves. I get in a few solid strikes, but never manage to pin him. Finally, I step out, tired from the exertion. 

Ilium and Venom go at it while I lean up against the rail and take deep breaths. Holly comes up next to me. I nod in a friendly way. She comments dryly “Never fought Venom before.” 

I shake my head “Nope. He moves unlike anything I’ve ever encountered.”

She laughs, her bright green eyes flashing. We watch the fight. They know the way the other fights, and almost seem to be able to predict the next move. It is a beautiful thing to watch. 

After the fight Venom strolls over “Lyrica, about how old are you?”

I frown at him, but answer “About 450, why?”

Ilium answers “He tried to mesmerize you, and you broke free of it very quickly.” 

Venom nods to Ilium “Top of my range, but still too fast. We have a job to do, see you later.” I’m not totally sure what he means. He strolls off, Holly falling in beside him. 

Just then, my phone buzzes. I rush over to it, and check. I nod to Ilium “I got a lead. Thanks for distracting me.” I offer him the arm clasp of warriors. 

“Good hunting, Lyrica.” I take to the skies. My target just went shopping. 

I fly to the grocery store in the gathering dusk and sit on the edge of the roof, waiting. In the shadow of a roof, I am nearly unnoticeable with my dark skin and deep-hued purple wings. It feels like an eternity when the vampire walks out of the store 10 minutes later. He has a plastic bag full of food. Now, a vampire has no need for food. I trail him as he gets in a car, flying high enough that I am not easily seen in the twilight. He parks at the end of one of the streets still filled with rubble. Most of the city has been reclaimed and rebuilt, but some areas are still demolished. Rome wasn’t built in a day. 

He picks his way through the rubble, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while. I stay in a position where the last slivers of the twilight won’t hit me, but I needn’t have bothered. He never looks up. I see him start to move rubble off of an object, and draw closer. It is a trapdoor. If he goes down there, I will lose him. There are tunnels that some entrepreneurs and wealth re-distributors made in the years after the battle. I weigh my options, then swoop down from the sky and stand in front of him.

Predictably, he runs. I leap after him and carry him up to the sky in a few strong wing-beats. I drop him on a fairly even spot on top of a mountain of rubble. I land dramatically and flip a knife in my hand. “Alster Silver?” 

He blusters “What right have you to do this?”

I raise an eyebrow “I am an angel. I work for Raphael.” 

“I am far too unimportant for Raphael to care.” 

I smile “You are right. It’s left to angels like me to deal with worthless cretins like yourself. Let’s start with the basics. Who were you buying food for?”

He frowns, not expecting that question “My girlfriend.”

“Could you describe her for me?”

He looks really confused, but I have a method. See, I don’t want to accidentally torture the wrong person. That’s no fun. “Blond hair, brown eyes, why do you want to know?”

I keep my voice toneless, although fury pounds through my veins. “What would you do if she wanted to leave?”

He snarls “What is this, a sick joke?” I see the fear and guilt flash across his face. I have my confirmation. Now all that is left is to get her information. 

“Where did you take her?”

“Take who?”

“Julia, the woman you abducted last night. Where did you take her?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He starts looking around, looking for a way out. I am ready when he tries to run. I slam him back against a aluminum sheet and pin his shoulder to the metal with the knife in my hand. 

I get right in his face. “Last chance before this gets ugly. Where is she?” 

He snarls “You’ll never find her.” It occurs to me that this vampire might just be utterly insane. I start with the basics, sinking punches into his ribs and slaps across his face. Then I move on to snapping bones. He still doesn’t give me the location. I frown. If I take this too far, there might be consequences. I weigh the possible reprimand against a mortal girl, scared and alone. There isn’t really a choice. 

I call my power to the tips of the fingers, and let it ignite. Fire burns in my hands, a glimmering purple. The vampire looks at my hand in terror. I take one finger, burning with the flame, and touch the end of his shoe. It takes a few seconds for the shoe to burn. I look at him and smile. He tries to move the leg away, but I hold it in place with my other hand. His strength is no match for mine. He screams as the flames reach his toes, and the horrid smell of burnt flesh spreads through the air. He thrashes and screams, and I stop when the fire burns through his ankle. I ask “Where is she?” 

He curses, calling me all sort of names. I ask again “Where is she? Tell me, and I’ll stop.” He curses me again. I shake my head “Wrong answer.” I start burning his other leg. It takes three inches up the calf until he breaks. I can see it in his features. I go just a little bit more as he starts begging. “So, where is she?”

“The basement of the old museum on 24th street.” 

I smile “Now, was that so difficult? You know, if you are lying, I’ll be back.” 

He starts babbling “No, I swear, it’s the truth.” I leave him there, weeping.

I land a short distance away when I realize I shouldn’t go rescue her alone. I call the tower. 

“Hello.” 

“Dimitri, who is responsible for rescuing a women abducted by a vampire? Us or NYPD.” 

“Normally, us. Is this the case I assigned you to?”

“Yes, it was a vampire. I got the location out of him.” 

“The woman is alive?”

I nod “Should be, he was bringing food back. He kept them for weeks, and she went missing 2 days ago.” 

“Where is the vampire?” 

“He’s not going anywhere. About 5 blocks south of the corner of 5th ave and 24th street.” 

I feel Dimitri pause “He’s not going anywhere?” 

“I had to be very persuasive to get the location.” 

I can almost see him decide to deal with that later. “Where is the girl? We’ll go in with a tower team to rescue her, and if there’s no weirdness, we’ll turn her over to NYPD.” 

“Basement of an old museum on 24th street.” 

“I know the location, it’s a couple blocks north of the park. The area is rubble.” 

“I’ll meet the team there.” I hang up the phone before he can order me otherwise, and take off. The phone rings again, but I ignore it. It would be dangerous to talk while flying. 

I circle the area until I see the tower van pull up, landing right alongside them. Dimitri hops out of the van and shoots me a glare. I fight the urge to sweep into a gracious curtsy and focus my eyes on the building. Two other vampires get out of the van, and Dimitri orders them to clear the building. 

Dimitri walks over to me, “Why did you leave the vampire unsecured?”

I reply “He isn’t going anywhere on his own power and there was no indication of an accomplice. I doubt anyone would find him, never mind help him.” 

Dimitri pauses for a minute then asks “You burned off his legs?” So the Seven are in mental contact with each other. 

I mutter “He was being difficult.” 

The two vampires return “Scene is clear, we could see her, but she screamed when we approached.” 

Dimitri nods “Lyrica, get her out. I’ll call the detectives.” I nod and walk quickly into the building. 

I call “Hello? My name is Lyrica, I’m here to rescue you.” I hear sobbing, and I walk towards the sound. The woman is tied up in a chair in front of a table. She stops crying when she sees my wings. I ask softly “Are you Julia?” 

She nods “Yes.” Her voice is hoarse. 

I smile at her “The police have been working to find you. I’ll untie you, and we can get out of here, okay?” She seems so young, barely 20. She nods, so I quickly slice through her bonds. When she tries to stand, her muscles lock, so I help her up and we walk outside together. The police are there, and an ambulance. The tower personnel have faded into the background. 

Dimitri meets my eyes and mouthes “My office.” I nod in acknowledgment. I’m probably in trouble for my behavior, but I don’t regret my actions. The detectives walk over to me. 

Detective Marlise says “Thank you so much for finding her. The call came from that vampire, but I know you did the work.” 

Detective Josh asks “Do you want to come celebrate with us, for closing the case?”

I smile and say “Thank you for inviting me, normally I would.” 

Detective Darrel questions “Why not?”

I glance at the tower. “I’m in a tad bit of trouble for the way I concluded the investigation.”

“How so?”

I shrug “I made a decision I did not have the authority to make, would be my guess. I’m supposed to report for my reprimand soon.” 

Marlise notices some of my worry “Hey, you know you did the right thing, however you got here.”

I smile at her “I know. I don’t regret the actions I took to get here.” 

Josh asks “Are you in serious trouble?”

I think about it and shake my head “I don’t think so. I acted reasonably, given the situation. Besides, the Tower has a warrior culture. You mess up, you take the raps, everyone still respects you. Good ol’ warrior stoicism.” They laugh, and I say my farewell. I give Julia a feather as the ambulance starts packing up. With luck, one day, she will have a story to tell.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I fly quickly back to the tower. I don’t want to keep Dimitri waiting. His office door is open, so I glance in. “Come in, Lyrica.” I walk through the door. “Close the door and have a seat.” I settle on the backless chair. He is standing against the window on the far corner of the room. 

He just watches me as the seconds stretch into minutes. I avoid eye contact, resolutely inspecting the stuff hanging on the wall of the room. It is a tried and true interrogation technique, people feel obligated to fill silence. Finally he asks “How did you manage to burn off the legs of a vampire without killing him?” 

That wasn’t the question I was expecting. “My power expresses itself as fire.” 

“Explain.” I just hold my hand up and allow it to burst into flame. Dimitri shakes his head “I see. How much control do you have over it?”

I reply “If it is a smaller fire, complete control. Larger fires are more difficult, but my power is still growing rapidly.”

“Can you extinguish fires?”

I reply “If I can fill most of the fire with my power, I can simply extinguish it.” I let the fire in my hand fade away. 

“Are you immune to fire?” 

“Until I run out of power.” 

“Have you tested that?”

I nod “Yes, while pulling people out of a burning building. I ended up with first degree burns face chest and back, and my wings caught on fire. It took months to heal fully. I saved all the children though.” 

“Have you ever used the power in combat?”

“No, I haven’t been in a situation where it would be necessary. It would be a limited effectivness in an aerial battle. It behaves like normal fire, not angel-fire, or so I’m told.” 

Dimitri nods “Interesting. This information will be passed to Galen, who may change your position in the wings accordingly.” He pauses, and I wait. “Now, onto the real question. What were you thinking?”

I bite back the attempt to justify myself. I don’t know what, exactly, I am in trouble for. “About what, sir?” He glares at me. I can’t help myself and add “Because just now I was thinking about how lovely the stars look out the window.” There is a flicker in the intensity of the glare aimed at me. 

“Your orders were to follow the vampire.” 

I nod “I followed the vampire until it became obvious that he was going to go underground. Literally a tunnel under the earth.” 

Dimitri nods “Then what?”

“I picked him up and decided to question him.”

“Why didn’t you call the tower?”

“I thought a few broken bones would make him talk. It was implied to me that such a occurrence would not be uncommon in the retrieval of a murderous vampire.” 

Dimitri asks “By whom?”

I shake my head “Not terribly important. That was simply the assumption I was operating under.” 

He nods “Then what?”

I reply “Well, the vampire didn’t talk, so I used more brutal methods.” 

“Were you aware you were overstepping your authority?”

I answer precisely “I thought that might be the case. I went ahead anyway, I was sure of the vampire’s guilt, and I knew there was a woman tied up somewhere.” 

He scowls “Now you’ve presented me with a dilemma.” There’s no good response to that, so I just wait. Dimitri continues “You will be assigned extra work throughout the next few months. Expect to be exhausted on a regular basis.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Little did I know how accurate those words would become over the next few months. 

Two weeks of drilling with the night squadron as well as running drills for my own normal day squadron. A week of being sent all around the territory to fetch random important objects or guide angels. A week working under Nazarach with my squadron to help put down some vampires. He’s a brutal bastard, but he maintains order for Raphael well. Three weeks of working in the tower control room until I gain some baseline technical competency.

Usually, the one who hears my frustrations is Ilium. It is a bad look to rant to your subordinates about your boss, but Ilium although senior to me, is not directly in charge of me. This makes him a fairly safe person to vent to. We are at Erotique, a club in downtown. I am complaining as usual “Fly here, do this. Learn how to hack surveillance cameras in two days. Go execute a bunch of vampires who decided to rebel while Raphael is in Africa.” Ilium laughs at me, like usual. 

Then he becomes serious for a half-second “Lyrica, you know why Dimitri is doing this, right?”

I nod “I’m fairly sure, yeah. I’ve been paying attention to where I’ve been placed.” 

Ilium laughs “Okay, then.”

I smile at him “I’m just ranting, you know? There’s not that many people that know not to take it seriously even when I sound very annoyed. I can handle it, even if I want to murder Dimitri for it.” 

Ilium shakes his head at me “Now you sound like Elena.” She is the other person I rant to on occasion, but she is currently in Africa with Raphael. And it isn’t often a good idea to rant to your boss’s boss’s consort, but she is so easy to talk to. 

The next week, Dimitri throws me in with the advanced squad. It’s and honor, and I get trained to use my power. The disadvantage is that I exhaust my power supply almost every day. I barely even have the energy to play the violin before rolling into bed. I’m exhausted enough that when a weird vampire with silver eyes and hair hisses at me like a cat, I hiss back. 

A laugh from the stunning angel behind the vampire, her arm dropping. She was about to pull him back. The vampire grins, and it is feral, unlike anything I’ve seen. “I like her. She smells good.” 

I pull my tired brain together and realize who they must be “Nice to meet you, Naasir, Andromeda.” Her wings are oddly like Dahariel’s. Naasir grins at me, flashing fangs, and walks off. 

He turns at the end of the corridor. “Dimitri’s good, even when he is being harsh.” 

I meet his eyes for a split second “I know.” I continue on, slouching in one of the common areas while coffee brews. 

Elena walks in with a tray of cookies. “Here, have a cookie.” She looks at me again. “What put that expression on your face.” 

“I just met Naasir.” 

“He must like you.” 

“So he said.” 

Elena asks, curiosity twinkling in her eyes, so open for an immortal “What happened?”

I sigh “Keep in mind, I’m exhausted, alright? Anyway, he ran up out of nowhere and hissed at me, so I hissed back. Then he said that he likes me, and I smell good. He’s not a normal vampire, is he?”

Elena sighs “You know, I’ve been trying to figure that out for almost 10 years now. Have another cookie.” I smile and eat a few more cookies. All this extra work means I can load up on calories. An angel has to try very hard to get fat. I chat with Elena for a while. 

The next week, I am assigned to oversee shipments into the port of New York because the angel that normally does it wanted a week off. I know nothing about ships and shipping. I tell Dimitri that when he assigns me, but he just tells me to figure it out. I end up searching everything on the Internet and asking a lot of discreet questions. The next week, I am assigned to teach Elena’s fledgling guard about angelic politics from my perspective. I meet the legendary Janvier and Ashwini. At the end of the week, Ashwini thanks me for the teaching, a perfectly normal interaction. 

As she walks out, she turns and says “You’ll meet him soon enough. Don’t be afraid to trust yourself.” Her tone of voice is weird, or as Elena would put it, spooky. Janvier gives me a cheerful wave as they walk out the door. 

Izzy comes up to me. “She does that a lot. You look like you need a hug.” I accept the offered hug. He is such a cute young angel, but he’s growing up fast. He was very quick to grasp the political undercurrents. 

The students have all left the room when a quiet voice comments “You have a good understanding of angelic politics.” I startle, I didn’t notice anyone come in. I look up at the angel with wings of pure night. Half his face is covered with a tattoo, the effect is startling.

I reply “From you, that is a valuable compliment.” Jason is Raphael’s spymaster, and probably knows more about angelic politics than anyone else alive. He leaves the room smoothly, moving in absolute silence. I consider the comment, and wonder if he was in the room the whole time. Very scary. 

The next week, I’m a receptionist. “Hello, welcome to archangel tower, how may I help you?” Fortunately, I get pulled off that a day early, or else I might murder the next person to come through the door that isn’t supposed to be in the tower. 

Dimitri frowns at me “You’re not a very good receptionist.” 

I reply “I didn’t kill anyone, so I consider it a success.” 

He laughs at me, and gives me my next orders. “Take a day to rest, you’ll be helping Jason for the next few weeks.” 

The work I am doint for Jason is very interesting, but if wrote about it, it would hardly be spy secrets anymore. Well, maybe just a hint. 

Ilium decided to pester me “So, what did you do for Jason? You just abruptly went missing for a week.” After like the fifth time he asks, I decide to answer. 

“Fine, it can’t hurt to tell you.” Ilium’s eyes laugh. He is such a lively angel. It’s impossible not to like him. “Jason wanted details on the geography of Michaela’s stronghold. I think he’s trying to get spies inside.”

Ilium asks “And you just told him?” 

“Its Aegaeon’s lands now, not Michaela’s, and she’s either Sleeping or dead.” I see a flash of pure fury in Ilium’s eyes. I wince “Ow, that burned.” 

Ilium looks at me “What?”

“The fury in your eyes. What did I say?” 

He is about to lie, but then tells the truth “Aegaeon is my father.” 

I look startled “That isn’t common knowledge. Daddy issues?”  
He cracks a smile, but fury still dances in his eyes. “Let’s leave it at that.” 

I drop the subject, but I wonder. Usually, the child of an archangel is raised by the archangel, and it would be unusual for one to go into Sleep while their child is young. Angelic children are precious, and the child of an archangel can be a target. 

A week later, I am working with Mahiya to sort through the vast amount of reports Jason’s spies generate. He is off somewhere doing something secret. Mahiya knows, but won’t tell me. I come across a report from a squadron commander at the village outside Lumia. He has seen Aegaeon flying outside the town, but he hasn’t come in. It was dated two days ago. I grab the report and look for Dimitri. He’s is out of the tower. I don’t know how important this is, but my instincts say it’s important. With trepidation, I head for Raphael’s office. He is coming out of the door. I sweep into a bow. “Archangel, a moment?” 

He just looks at me. “I though this might be important, and Dimitri was out, here.” I give him the report before my babbling gets out of control. 

Raphael looks at the report and asks “Why did you think this was important enough for my direct attention?” 

The challenge of explaining my hunches. “I believe anything that concerns your Seven would concern you, Sire. Ilium calls you his family.” I take a deep breath and plunge in. “I know that Aegaeon is Ilium’s father, and we left that conversation at Daddy issues, and the Hummingbird is Ilium’s mother, which means there’s probably a bad relationship there, which puts the report of Aegaeon spying on Lumia in a different context, and Aegaeon is an archangel, which means that it not only probably concerns Ilium, but concerns you. Sire.” I glance up at him, my eyes had crept down to the floor. Raphael has nice shoes. 

The archangel looks at me directly after reading the report again, and his gaze is piercing blue. “You have good intuition.” I bow as he brushes by and heads for the top floor of the tower. 

The next day, he and Elena leave for Lumia. I guess my information was worthy of a personal visit. I don’t have too long to think about it because I am thrown into another week of intensive training with the advanced squadron. I think Dimitri is a sadist. 

The next week, I have to revise my opinion because I am given shifts running the command room. It is a job that is usually only given to the most senior and powerful vampires or angels. The responsibilities include dealing with any unexpected occurrences and answering the tower hot line. It doesn’t help that Naasir keeps lurking around. I can’t tell if he is supposed to be keeping an eye on me, or if he wants to eat me. The job is boring, except when something happens, then it’s usually very hard. It takes me a few days to get the hang of it, but by the end of the week, I am enjoying the challenge. 

At the end of the week, Dimitri summons me to his office again. “Your punishment is officially over.” 

I snort. “It was a wonderful learning experience.” 

Dimitri grins. “However, you did exceptionally well with most of the tasks I threw at you. Take a week off, then starting next week, you will drill with the advanced squad twice a week, and pick up shifts of different types in the control center.” 

I nod “Sounds good, as long as I don’t have to be a receptionist again.”

He mutters “Believe me, nobody wants you to be a receptionist again.” Louder, he orders “Get some rest, and don’t neglect drilling your squadron.

I smile “I’ll do that. Thanks, Dimitri.” He’s a cold, cruel vampire centuries older than me, but Naasir is right. There is a decent person somewhere inside, but buried very, very deep.


End file.
